Beauty Secrets from the People Who Know Best

Top beauty editors, makeup artists, beauty bloggers, and more reveal their favorite tips and tricks.

Layer Your Liner

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“If you’re not a professional makeup artist, it can be difficult to line those eyes, but then again liquid liner tends to stay on longer and smudge-free. So what I do is, I line my eyes first with a pencil liner because it’s easier to make that straight line with it. Then I go back on the line with the liquid liner. It’s kind of like coloring! The result? Your eye liner will stay on, smudge-free, and well-lined.” [Click to tweet this tip!]
-Ysolt Usigan, beauty and style contributor at Huffington Post

Blot with This

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“If your skin is on the shiny side, stop by your local Starbucks, grab a handful of those brown napkins, and shove them in your purse. They work better than any blotting papers I’ve used and they’re free. And, don’t feel guilty about pilfering from the coffee conglomerate. If they’re charging four bucks for some java and steamed milk, they owe you a shine-free face.”
-Daneen Baird, founder and editor-in-chief of SpoiledPretty.com

For Angel Hair

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“I have extremely thick tresses that get dry and frizzy during extreme seasonal shifts. I apply a conditioning hair masque and leave it on overnight, rinsing in the morning. Hair becomes angelical soft and immediately rescued.”
-Amy E. Goodman, author of “Wear This, Toss That!”

Soft and Sexy Eye Makeup

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“For an eye look that’s defined but not too heavy, line your upper lash line with black eyeliner and the bottom lash line with brown eyeliner. This is one of my biggest makeup artist tricks for beautiful, soft eyes!”
–Mally Roncal, celebrity makeup artist

Warm Your Lash Curler

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“Run your eyelash curler under warm water (or blast it with your blow drier for a second) before using it for a considerably curlier result that lasts!”
-Alexis Wolfer, editor-in-chief of TheBeautyBean.com

Open Up Your Eyes

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“Take a white eye pencil and line the inside rim of your lower eyelid. This really makes eyes pop! Fun fact: Look at the old black/white photos of the gorgeous women of the ‘30s and ‘40s like Marlene Dietrich and you’ll see this was done to them. Additionally, if your eyes are a close set, use the white pencil to lightly line the section where the upper and lower lids come together, closest to the nose. This will make them appear wider apart. The key here is to make sure it’s sublte.”
-Candice Sabatini, editorial director of BeautyNewsNYC.com

Wonderful Water

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“The best thing you can do for your appearance is to drink lots of water. Hydration helps your skin stay moisturized and glowing, boosts your metabolism, and keeps your energy levels up. Spritz water on your face too, especially in the summer, to keep it feeling and looking refreshed.”
-Debbie Strong, senior health editor at Everyday Health

For a Clean Chin

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“If you break out on your chin and jawline often, try using and keeping a hand sanitizer next to your computer. We often unconsciously touch and lean chins into hands while zoned out in front of the screen, causing the dirt and bacteria on our hands to spread and trigger breakout-prone areas of the face.”
–Grace Gold, freelance beauty reporter

Maintain Your Sexy Blow Out

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“To preserve a blow out, I sleep with my hair in a top knot secured with hair pins to keep the texture and shape. When I wake up, I just let it fall and spruce it up a bit with dry shampoo on my roots and if I need to, I’ll refresh it with a blow dryer.”
-Jeannine Morris, editor-in-chief at BeautySweetSpot.com

Face Washing Strategy

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“To keep my skin from drying out, I use two different face washes—a heavy duty gel-based one in the evening and a lighter milk-based cleanser in the morning. A lighter cleanser in the morning helps the skin retain protective oils.”
-Alina Dizik, freelance beauty writer

Make Mascara Count

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“Make a $5 tube of mascara look as good as the results from a $25 tube by holding a business card up along the inside edge of your lashes and sweeping the brush against it with your other hand. This way your lashes can’t bend out of the way of the brush and you end up coating every lash all the way to the tip. The results will leave you wide-eyed in more ways than one.”
-Wendy Toth, senior lifestyle editor for Digital Works @NBCU

No Powder, No Oil

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“After age 35, never ever wear powder (except maybe a dab on your nose). It settles into wrinkles around the eyes and mouth to instantly age skin. Instead, go for a tinted moisturizer and/or a stellar concealer like YSL Touche Eclat that deflects light to minimize lines. Use facial blotting tissues like those by The Body Shop with tea tree oil to blot excess oil.”
–Ingrid Schmidt, freelance style and beauty editor

Take the Power Back

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“I once splurged on a very expensive haircut at a super swanky NYC salon. What did I learn from this $400 trim, besides it looked no different than a $40 cut? I learned to take my power back. When it came time to style my hair, the master stylist asked me how I would like him to do it. ‘I don’t know, you’re the expert,’ I said. He begged to differ and lectured me on how I should never give my power away in the chair. Wagging a pricey comb at me, he cautioned me to stay alert and aware every step of the way and never be afraid to speak up or ask the stylist to show you want they are doing. ‘Never forget, when it comes to your hair, you’re the expert,’ he said. Then he offered me champagne.”
–Janene Mascarella, beauty writer for Bella magazine

Do It Yourself

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“Save money by creating your own tinted moisturizer. I just put a small drop of my liquid foundation and a dime-sized amount of my daily moisturizer in the palm of my hand. I mix the two and voila! I have my own tinted moisturizer! No new products required.”
-Margaret McGriff, Yahoo! Shine community beauty blogger

Fatten Up Baby Fine Hair

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If you have flat, baby fine strands like I do, an aerosol can of dry shampoo is essential for pumping up the volume. Women who are blessed with hair to spare use it to sop up oil between blowouts, but I like to spritz it straight onto clean roots daily. (Klorane is my absolute favorite brand, but there are some great drugstore options out there, too). The fine blast of powder adds texture and what I like to call “grip” to give my style staying power—and more importantly gives me lift that lasts all day!
-Ellen Miller, beauty director at SHAPE

Try a Bun

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“In the summer, I don’t have time or desire to blow dry my hair in the nasty heat, so I wear it up in a high bun. It looks polished, takes 30 seconds, and saves my hair extra heat damage.”
-Valerie Denny, senior web editor at Redbook

Crazy for Chapstick

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“Always carry Chapstick on you and never let your lips get dried up and cracked. No matter what brand or color lipstick you wear, chapped, dry lips will show and never look good.”
-Anne Chertoff, freelance beauty writer and wedding style expert

Skin Primer with Shimmer

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“I love YSL’s Top Secrets skin primer for when I need to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed even with no sleep. It has flecks of shimmer in it and was developed for models who had early call times—but worked for us normal girls as well!”
–Charlie James, videographer and commercial model

Got Thin Brows?

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“For people with thin brows, use a pencil first that is a bit lighter than your natural color to define the shape, then follow with a brow powder that is close to your natural hair color with a thin, strong angle brush. After, use a brow gel or sealer which will set the powder. My fave is the Model in a Bottle – Long Lasting Eyebrow Sealer. It is by far the best sealer out there and I have tried many.”
–Lauren Fanuzzi, beauty guru and art director

For Yellow Nails

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“If you get yellow nails after months of wearing dark polish, try scrubbing your toenails with a nail brush and whitening toothpaste. It gets rid of the yellow color. Try it—it works pretty well, and you end up with minty fresh toes!”
-Roxanna Sarmiento, beauty and style writer, and blogger at everydaytreats.com

The Good Oil

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“Flawless skin is everyone’s best beauty asset. Apply a drop of omega- and antioxidant-rich sea buckthorn seed oil on blemishes to speed up healing and see more perfect skin by morning. It’s amazing!”
–Jolene Hart, beauty and health coach

Make Concealer Count

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“Brighten your look instantly by dabbing some corrective concealer on the darkest portion of under-eye circles. Pat a flesh-toned shade over it and set with powder. Make sure to apply any eye creams and moisturizers well before application to avoid creasing.”
–Kaylin Johnson, eco-friendly makeup artist and blogger

Keep Things Clean

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“Extend the life of your makeup by using disposable applicators to avoid the double dip. Makeup’s biggest enemy is bacteria, which are generally introduced to liquid products such as mascara by re-using an applicator. If you’ve ever had your makeup professionally done, you might notice that we makeup artists always use a new, clean mascara wand every time we have to dip into the product. We do this for the safety of our clients so that bacteria from one client isn’t transferred to another, but limiting exposure to bacteria also helps the products last much longer. The easiest way to avoid the double dip is to use disposable applicators which you can generally get at any beauty supply shop.”
–Ann Merin, makeup artist who appears on TLC’s Wedding Day Makeover

The Best Bra

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“A well-fitting bra is the best beauty trick there is—boost the girls in and up to look younger, thinner, and more proportioned!”
–Jene Luciani, style and beauty expert, and author of The Bra Book

Mix with Lotion

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“Mix your favorite body lotion with body oil (even a tiny bit of olive oil will work!) for an all over soft sheen. Mix a body bronzer with your favorite body lotion; it’s an easy, goof-proof way for a quick boost of color, especially when you are pressed for time!”
-Michelle McKean, Beauty Mama blogger at ParentSociety.com

Sample Eye Creams

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“Keep those mini samples of eye cream you get with department store ‘gift with purchase’ in your desk and refresh your eyes during the day by lightly tapping the eye cream on your under eye area—even over your makeup is okay. It’s refreshing and keeping your eye area moisturized makes it more youthful looking.”
-Kari Solyntjes, founder of Fab Over Forty

Pillow Pretty

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“Always sleep on satin or silk pillowcases so that your hair doesn’t snag and break when you’re tossing and turning. If your hair is prone to dryness, focus shampoo on your scalp. Clean your scalp and when you rinse, the shampoo will clean the length or your hair just enough to gently cleanse it.”
-Kai Chic, creator of Mane and Chic

Retinoid Cream

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“As I get older, I’ve noticed that I tend to get more clogged pores and blackheads, so every night I use a retinoid cream (the one I like is non-RX) on my chin, nose, and forehead. If I do this regularly, my skin seems to look smoother, and I’m hoping I avoid breakouts.
-Maria Ricapito, freelance beauty writer for YouBeauty.com, VanityFair.com and DailyGlow.com (just to name a few)